


The Midnight Call

by setosdarkness, thefinalcross (setosdarkness)



Category: Free!
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, M/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-04
Updated: 2013-08-10
Packaged: 2017-12-22 10:23:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/912079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/setosdarkness/pseuds/setosdarkness, https://archiveofourown.org/users/setosdarkness/pseuds/thefinalcross
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin is an S-Class vampire, while Haruka is the Ace of humanity's side, the best vampire hunter operative there is. And the mission given to Haru is to kill all vampires on earth, even if one of them happens to be his childhood friend and former partner... </p><p>:: RinHaru, HaruRin, Sharkbait BL :: Vampire AU :: Rated M for a reason: limes, lemons, violence</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 01: the midnight call

**Content** : vampires, a lot of mentions of blood and violence, citrus-flavored BL … also, I have a thing for Yandere / Yangire characters, so. :D

Please enjoy :)

•••

"—morning, Haru-chan."

It's not after the second repetition of the greeting that the man being addressed actually looks up from the pile of photos scattered on top of the worrying amount of notes and eyewitness accounts. There's hardly a semblance of order amongst the mess that they call their evidence, but Nanase Haruka is one of a kind when it comes to his dangerous work – it's not surprising if there's a deeper meaning behind the clutter.

There's no reply from Haruka but he at least nods in acknowledgement at his childhood friend and his mission partner.

Tachibana Makoto can't help but fondly smile at his friend's taciturn demeanor that has never changed over the years. Some would think that it's unhealthy for someone to not change at all, but amidst the crazy times they're living in, it's almost a relief to see someone unmoved by this twisted world.

Plus, he's used to Haruka's stoicism so the cool welcome doesn't deter him from happily placing two sets of boxed lunch on the empty spot of Haruka's work desk. The fact that Haruka's eyes don't immediately swerve back to review the evidence in front of him is already enough to warm his heart; after all, Haruka's eyes instead scan his body for any injury, before moving to stare intently at Kou to do the same assessment.

"Everything went smoothly," Makoto is supposed to submit a written report to the higher-ups first, but he knows that it's important to also placate the worries – no matter how small – on Haruka's heart, "and there are no casualties whatsoever on our end. Rei and Nagisa should be returning soon, too."

Haruka shrugs the information off and anyone watching might assume that the news of zero casualties mean nothing to their best operative, but they can't see the relaxed lines on Haruka's shoulders upon hearing his words.

"Hmph, Nagisa never learns—" Kou complains about their blond friend's tardiness and blatant flirting with breaking the rules, but there's no question that she's fond of him. Makoto grins and placates her, all the while thinking that it's one of the higher-ups' best decisions to avoid partnering those two together. "—he's even _influencing_ Ryugazaki-kun!"

Makoto gently steers her away from Haruka's desk, because all interest has already left Haruka's eyes on them and refocused on the case he's studying. He makes a hasty excuse about getting an earful from the bosses if they don't submit their report soon. That's only half-true, but it's not like Kou _needs_ to know, and it's not like Haruka notices.

He's far too absorbed in his work.

Makoto doesn't know if he should be glad for that.

But thinking of the alternative – the Haruka that refused to leave his room, the Haruka that refused to even let a single ray of light enter his room, the Haruka that refused to even be within ten meters from their vicinity – this workaholic is already worlds better.

(But Makoto doesn't know if he should be glad for that either.)

•••

**the midnight call** ; **  
**  
•••

Since the beginning of the end of the world, agencies that claim to handle all things supernatural have been appearing left and right, easily preying upon the hordes of people too panicked to think straight. But not even a year into the grand revelation of their existence, vampires have squashed most of the resistance – leaving only the ridiculous wannabe-heroes to put up a fight against their rampant violence and disregard for human rights.

Despite the despair that outlined everyone's lives, there's an ambitious group that dared to pool its best resources and dared to gather the strongest not only in their bones, but also in their hearts.

Operation Freedom remains to be the only force left in this world that can even delude itself into hoping to get rid of the vampires and the other monsters that ravaged the earth.

Ordinary humans now have the means of fighting back and Operation Freedom made it possible by pairing its operatives to produce maximum results.

Haruka defied – continues to defy – that tradition by being the only operative in the Operation's bloody history to be an active agent despite not having a partner.

There's a lot of stress that comes along with being the _Ace_ – everybody is always looking at him, examining him, assessing him, pinning their hopes on him. Honestly, he can do without that kind of responsibility. He doesn't enjoy participating in the monthly ranking for the highest number of kills; he doesn't appreciate the 'Perfect Mission Rate' awards crowding his unused cabinet. Competing with his colleagues for recognition and fame doesn't sit well with him; competing with the various monsters roaming the earth for the right to live one more day doesn't bring him any sort of accomplishment.

He kind of wishes that things are not like this – but wishes are things that are never granted to people like him.

Haruka stares at the photos with colors blurring and sharpening at various intervals - the more he looks at them... - and despite the chaos, he can still read the words printed on the reports underneath. It has more to do with the fact that he has already memorized all relevant reports, rather than him having superhuman eyesight.

Sometimes, he thinks that Makoto already knows.

Maybe not the whole story, but Makoto is unbelievably sensitive when it comes to the ones dear to him.

It's not like things will change if somebody else knows, but Haruka feels an almost-imperceptible twinge at the thought of someone looking at him and knowing what to look for, what to think about.

Haruka sighs mentally, squaring his shoulders as he reaches for one of the boxed lunch on his desk. There's no doubt that it's full of vegetables and nutrient supplements – it would be infinitely better if it's all mackerel – because Makoto is worried about the all-nighters that he keeps on pulling.

The mission debriefing shouldn't take too long and the bosses will surely send someone down to fetch him within the next half-hour. He's already done his preliminary investigation on the mission he's about to be sent on – the mission folder is already deep underneath his stack of unimportant work – so it doesn't hurt to look at the pictures a little more while he's devouring Makoto's cooking.

Sometimes, he catches himself thinking that it would have been better if he isn't this _obsessed_.

But Haruka knows that he can't allow that to happen.

There's nothing else that can fill the void in his heart otherwise – not even the sun that hasn't been visible for decades, not even the complete annihilation of non-humans, not even the promise of a life without having to worry about anything.

And deep down, Haruka knows that he doesn't want anything else but _this_.

•

The mission ends without much fanfare – there wasn't any pureblood amongst the five vampires he faced and most of them appeared to be recently-turned, what with the weakened skin and uncoordinated flash-steps. The cleaning team sent after him are also rather immature – they still wretch and vomit upon the sight of blood soaking the dirty abandoned building's walls. Haruka doesn't know anyone personally from the cleaners, but he is tempted to tell them that excessive sweating can contaminate the samples they're supposed to be packing back to the headquarters.

"Make sure you're clean when you're handling the samples." He frowns when the cleaner glares at him upon hearing his words. While it's true that his role is hardly intertwined with the Research Department, it's also true that the samples are important and he tells them as much. "You're handling important samples. Take good care of it."

One of the other cleaners – she kind of looks familiar but her face doesn't grab a name in his mind – reply on her colleague's behalf. "We'll keep that in mind, Senior Operative Nanase."

He flinches at that title but nods nevertheless. He can still feel the glare coming from the young cleaner but it doesn't even sink in fully – there isn't enough bite nor passion in that stare, there isn't enough in it for Haruka to fully understand. What he does understand is that he must look like a monstrous entity for being able to finish five vampires on his own without the need of any backup and he has been doing this for a very long time without gaining a major injury.

His role is finished for the day and unlike Makoto's or Nagisa's team, he isn't hassled by the higher-ups to promptly return to the headquarters to submit mission reports. They already know that it's a lost cause for them to try to keep him caged and bound by those kinds of rules. They think he is the ultimate form of _freedom_ – free from the world's craziness, free from the people's weaknesses.

They're wrong, but he doesn't find it necessary to correct their misconception.

Before he leaves the decrepit building, he stares longer than necessary at the indispensable samples being handled with care. He might be a fighter but he does have his own reasons for wanting the research into vampires to reach new heights.

He doesn't bother obtaining permission to return alone; he simply walks out into the mud-floored street of the ghost town without any surveillance folks tailing him.

Even if some newbie tried to follow him, it would have been foiled anyway, as he quickly weaved himself across the shadows that lined the dilapidated structures of this town.

Haruka stops his brisk walking as he reaches a nondescript establishment that could pass for a gymnasium twenty years prior. There's a shadow at the edge of his vision and it's thick and heavy and unlike the shadows of non-sentient beings.

He remembers the pile of photos that all featured just one person.

Sometimes, he catches himself thinking that he wants to sink into this obsession.

•

" _Senior Operative,_ what a fucking joke."

Haruka frowns as he hears the title once again, but instead of hopes and dreams attached to the words, all he hears is the sound of his rushing heartbeat pumping inside his head. It's dizzying and heartbreaking and confusing all at once, but Haruka arches his back so he can press even closer against the person who unceremoniously dragged him inside the abandoned gym. He gets hit by a strange thought of wanting to claw out the other's skin so that he can burrow himself inside the other's body – just so they can never be apart, not even by a single millimeter – but he discards that as soon as it sinks in. It's unhygienic and it's impossible to accomplish and he isn't even _sure_ if the other would allow that kind of inseparable closeness.

"Stop ignoring me, Haru!"

Haruka can't really ignore him – which is the root of all his problems, he thinks – but Rin has always been impatient and insecure and Haruka can't help being torn about wanting to deny him the attention he craves and wanting to maybe just chaining the two of them together so that Rin can see all those pictures, all those files, all those research for his sake. But he knows that everything is _his fault_ and that everything he does ends up hurting Rin and he just doesn't know – he has never known – what he can possibly say to fix _this_.

"You're being annoying," is what comes out of his lips instead, but he hushes those words with a gentle kiss to Rin's right brow, before trailing his lips across the other's left eyelid, to the other's nose, to the other's chin. Rin is always annoying but that's endearing, that's _Rin_. He's annoying because he grabs Haruka's attention with the intention of never letting go and he's annoying because he's the only one who can make Haruka _feel_ like this.

"Do you think you're _special_?" Rin hisses dangerously, menacing even if his words vibrate teasingly over the cold skin over Haruka's collarbone. Rin harshly clamps his mouth over the junction of Haruka's neck and left shoulder, his shark-like teeth sharpening even further with the blatant intent to draw more than just a few droplets of blood. Rin sucks on the tender skin unforgivingly, urging more of his blood to rise to the surface and Haruka moans just barely despite knowing that Rin meant the gesture to be punishing and painful for him. "Just because you defeated those… _lowlifes_?"

Haruka hates competition especially if he's dragged into the middle of it and if he could physically extract his talent and throw it away, he would have done it ages ago. He has spent so many years trying to tell Rin that he has never thought of himself as special – certainly not as special as the other – but Rin's brand of stubbornness deserves a spot in the top ten most enduring structures despite several world wars.

"So you were stalking me earlier," Haruka murmurs with just a little bit of spite because Rin hates him enough to not even spare a tiny drop of the vampire anesthetic through the wound that he made. It's been two weeks and three days since the two of them last saw each other so he's honestly grateful that Rin followed him today, but it's not like he can ever voice that thought out. Moreover, Rin shouldn't be hanging around near agents from Operation Freedom. He just can't.

Rin scowls and even then he looks handsome. Haruka wonders if it's one of the perks of vampirism, but then he remembers the faces of the vampires he just hunted and none of them could even hope to compare to the sharp angles of Rin's face, to the vibrant crimson of Rin's eyes, to the soft strands of Rin's hair.

Self-control has always been his guide whenever he's with the others but he discards that now, because there's nothing more tempting than the sight of Rin passionately glaring at him while his blood still paints a lovely red on those lips. Rin's left cheek fits perfectly when cupped in his hand and Haruka coaxes Rin's head down to make it easier for them to kiss.

He lets his other hand wonder underneath the other's shirt, cold hand meeting a much colder back. He lets his fingers trace lines of abdominal muscle as he lets himself get lost to the taste of his own blood on Rin's lips. He finds his mouth stretching to a smile as Rin pulls away and sucks a larger bruise on his neck, thinking about how Rin's skin is warmer now.

The wall beneath Haruka's back creaks slightly as Rin grinds down on him with a deliberate roll of hips. He hopes that the wall can last long enough into their violent foreplay – because Rin's fingernails are now steadily lengthening to become claws and they're simultaneously ripping through the flesh on his biceps and shoving him against the paint-chipped wall. Their groins remain intimately pressed against one another and Haruka tries to guide Rin into something with a semblance of rhythm but it's getting harder to care about finesse when he can feel the edge arriving ever so closer just from the feeling of the vampire's cool body near him, just from the knowledge that for now, he is close to _Rin_.

" _Haru_ ," Rin starts chanting his name with a mix of reverence and anger and Haruka knows that he's close too, so he tugs at Rin's hair to pull him up for another messy kiss, because he's addicted to the perverse pleasure of devouring the other's breath as he comes, " _Haru, Haru, Haru_ —"

" _Rin_ ," is all Haruka says in response as he feels his cock twitch and spasm against the confines of his clothes. There are a million words that he wants to tell the other – _I miss you – I love you – I'm sorry – I will fix this – I want to be with you_ – but he doesn't let those words escape his lips because Rin is a difficult being to deal with.

There are still hard lines that criss-cross on Rin's face but he looks more relaxed compared to earlier. There's a pink flush on his cheeks – looking like he always does whenever they finish a round of mindless romping that's filled with so many feelings on Haruka's end that it's almost unfair.

Sometimes, Rin looks so smug like he knows that Haruka can't live without him.

Sometimes – like now – Rin looks so confused as to why Haruka would continue being an operative against supernatural beings yet also continue to associate with him. Rin looks like he's two seconds away from piercing his mind and reading his thoughts, but he also looks like he's five seconds away from giving up on ever understanding Haruka.

Haruka sighs heavily and runs a hand through his sweat-dampened bangs, deciding that smiling at Rin will probably strike at an unknown landmine, yet doing it anyway since there's no other expression he can think of making.

"Do you want to have dinner?" Haruka asks offhandedly even if he's inwardly grimacing and hoping that he sounds casual enough to not unwittingly gain Rin's ire. Makoto's boxed lunch from earlier today is still in his office because he doesn't find it necessary to cook food for himself, but it's different if Rin is involved. It always is. "…I still have some mackerel I can make."

Rin looks at him again as though he wants to use the very efficient vampire skill of mind-reading.

"…Che, fine."

And Rin turns around quickly but Haruka spots the light grin on the other's face and it's almost – almost – almost – close enough to the smile he had when he was still human.

And Haruka catches himself thinking how wonderful it would be if they could just return to how they were before.

•

> " _We will be the best agent pair the Operation Freedom will ever see, right, Haru?_ "
> 
> Even back then, Haruka had already hated the thought of competition or the thought of hard work to achieve one's goals. He had been satisfied to live in serenity because the town he was born into was under the protection of Operation Freedom and he never had to worry about the war that raged on outside his personal bubble. He had been pleased with having a caring family, a loyal set of friends, a peaceful life. He had been fine with not knowing to wish more for himself.
> 
> Then he had met Rin – and his life had spiraled out of his control. And he enjoyed it. He loved it, even. He loved Rin the most.
> 
> He had been contented with not having a goal, with letting his talent for fighting and killing rot.
> 
> But Rin declared that he found it awesome to be heroes for humanity, to be heroes that slaughtered the monsters that historically had never been defeated by the humans they had enslaved.
> 
> So Haruka trained just enough to keep Rin satisfied – and trained even more to keep Rin safe because they were going to be partners and he needed to be strong enough to fight not only for himself but also for Rin when they were both selected to fight for Operation Freedom.
> 
> Rin's sister hadn't wanted to let her brother go into dangerous territories alone so she followed his footsteps – the same way Makoto's complex for worrying hadn't allowed him a wink of sleep since he had learned about Rin's dream and Haruka's acquiescence. Nagisa had always been a mysterious being that had found the strength to smile despite the harsh times and had always been welcoming to their little group's selfishness. Everyone had ended up applying for Operation Freedom and everyone had ended up being accepted despite it being Rin's dream and Haruka had been satisfied then as well, because by then he had a caring family, a loyal set of friends and Rin in his life.
> 
> But then—
> 
> Things had been tense, but they were fine still.
> 
> Haruka's extra training – so that he could be strong enough to fight for two – had brought results and those results had upset Rin who trained enough for four but was never enough to beat someone who was luckily born into a body that was stronger than average. Rin had smiled less and less and he hugged Haruka less and less and he had been utterly confused as to what disappointed him more, but they were fine still.
> 
> But then—
> 
> Change was inevitable and Haruka hated it but there was one particular change that he was thankful for, because it brought Rin closer to him once more. Sharing secrets bound them together even more tightly and Haruka had been content then, because even if he rarely had time then for his loyal friends, even if he barely had time to miss his disappeared family, at least back then, he still had Rin.
> 
> But then—
> 
> Change was inevitable and Haruka hated it because it always brought more harm than good.
> 
> They had all known Rin – known that he was human like them – but they still. They still.
> 
> Rin had always been transparent and his hatred for Haruka's overflowing talent had been clear and apparently even his unwanted transformation to a vampire had been obvious as well.
> 
> Unlike the vampires that ravaged the world, Rin had never wanted to be transformed, had never wanted to be hated, had never wanted to be seen as a monster. It was a transformation against his will, but nobody else thought of it that way. It wasn't even a pureblood vampire that _changed_ him but everyone else considered him an enemy.
> 
> …Everyone else but Haruka.
> 
> (And sometimes, Haruka finds himself wishing that _that_ night hadn't happened at all.)

•

"You _really_ don't eat anything aside from mackerel, do you?" Rin routinely asks that question whenever Haruka deems his apartment safe from interference from his fellow operatives. "You've _always_ been a bit weird, Haru."

While he could live without hearing his favorite food get insulted, Haruka inwardly smiles at the fondness overflowing from Rin's words. He knows that eating nothing but fish is just asking for malnutrition, but it's not like that can bother him. As with each time Rin insults his meal preferences, Haruka ponders if he should broach _that_ topic; as always he doesn't possess enough courage to follow through. Just like before – countless times before – he prefers to keep whatever status quo there is rather than initiate change that he can't ascertain to be good or bad.

"You don't have to eat that if you don't want to," even if he's the one who invited the other, he can say those words, because really, there's no way he can force Rin to do something he dislikes. It's more than enough that he already hurt Rin – he can't do anything else like that.

Rin harrumphs and shoves the food into his mouth with an enthusiasm rivaling a starved man's.

Haruka eats more slowly – stomach already full and content just from watching the man in front of him act like a normal human being. These are moments that he can't get enough of – these are the moments he hopes to keep.

"What are you looking at?" Defensively, Rin clutches hard at the chopsticks with enough force to break them. Luckily, Haruka is prepared with strong ones that will not yield to supernatural entities. "I'm _hungry_ , so I'll eat this."

Rin isn't finished; he bulldozes through the conversation without giving Haruka even time to blink. "…plus, it's not like I'll always eat _this_ because you cooked it!"

"…Okay."

"I want something other than mackerel next time, you hear that, Haru?"

Haruka almost drops his own set of chopsticks – not because Rin is adorably ruffled right now – but because there's a spoken promise of next time.

As the Ace of the Operation Freedom, he is tasked to slay any and all supernatural beings that are marked as threats to humanity. Matsuoka Rin is considered as an S-Class target – the highest rating possible. As the Ace, his priority should be making sure that the vampire's heart is completely skewered.

"…Okay," Haruka agrees with a barely-there smile, because he's always been keen on making sure Rin gets what he wants.

After all, he already hurt him once and he doesn't want to ever repeat that.

•

"— _mou_ , Haru-ch _aaaaaaaa_ n, listen to m _eeeeee_ ~"

Nagisa is wheedling him to take over as Rei's personal coach for the special maneuver, because Executive Operative Sasabe and some other guy have given up on teaching the merits of unpredictability when it comes to fighting supernaturally fast beings.

"Your movements are the best when you're just following your heart, Haru-chan," Makoto chimes in with his contribution to the conversation, doing nothing to stop Nagisa from tugging at his sleeves.

"There has to be someone better than me to teach him."

"Well, it's true that you're not a good teacher, Haru-chan, but he _reallllllly_ needs help~"

Haruka weighs the pros and cons of retorting, all while silently mourning the fact that he's had less than two hours of sleep and exhaustion is tugging at his whole frame. Dealing with Rin always leaves his exhausted in more ways than one, especially if Rin is in one of his strange mood swings. And as always, he avoided inspecting himself in front of a mirror, so he's not quite sure if he managed to cover up all strange bruises that remained on his skin.

Nagisa is fast though – sometimes his careless actions and cheerful demeanor make it easy to forget that he is an operative just like him – and in mere seconds he has already progressed from simply whining and tugging at his clothes to burying his head against his shoulder.

"Nagisa—"

"Ehhhh~?" Yet again, Nagisa is faster. "Haru-chan, you're k _iiiii_ nd of cold?"

Haruka's world stops spinning for one moment.

"…I just took a long bath."

It takes him all the self-control that he possesses to refrain from adjusting his clothes. He isn't ashamed of Rin and of doing _things_ with Rin, but there's no way this type of revelation will go over so smoothly. It will change everything and Haruka refuses to have that happen.

Not anymore.

"W _o_ w, you must really like long baths, Haru-chan!" Nagisa's energy is rumored to be infectious but Haruka feels even more tired now than ever.

And sometimes, Haruka wonders how long he can stop things from changing.

•

"Wow, they're really good!"

"Not as good as Senior Operative Nanase, but still!"

"They've got guts, huh?"

"We finally scored an S-Class!"

"But isn't he related to Operative Kou?"

"You idiot! Vampires don't have relatives!"

"Damn right!"

"…isn't he the one that went berserk?"

"You mean Senior Operative Nanase's former partner?"

"Wow, isn't that huge!"

"Like I keep telling you, vampires don't have relatives! They're monsters that are totally unrelated to humans, so quit your yapping!"

"Guys, less talking, more moving!"

"Huuuuh, Senior Operative Nanase must be so shocked when he hears of this!"

•

…Shock isn't exactly the word that explains what he's feeling right now.

Haruka gazes at Rin from beyond three layers of protective glass – his view undisturbed by any reflections – not because he's frightened of the beast that Rin unleashes unwillingly whenever he fails to reign in the unstable vampire blood that courses throughout his veins – but because Operation Freedom has succeeded in recapturing the man that they pushed away years ago.

Imprisonment doesn't look pretty on Rin – there are strengthened chains keeping him suspended halfway through the pinkish-red blood tank; there are metallic blindfolds weaved four times over the paranormally bright eyes; there are combined alloy tapes wrapped around shark-like incisors and eagle-like claws.

Haruka feels sick at the sight.

It takes all of his self-control to not faint on the spot.

But it does take all of his courage to walk away without doing anything else that can jeopardize Rin's situation.

After all, it's already more than enough that he already hurt Rin once.

•

"EMERGENCY ALERT!"

"Everyone go to your posts!"

"CODE RED! I REPEAT: CODE RED!"

"Security breach at the underground prison!"

"The vampire has escaped!"

•

"Wake up, Rin."

He has always been careful when it comes to speaking to Rin – since he has to routinely scrub his statements free of any lingering forceful intent. This time though, he _wills_ Rin to wake up with his words, because his mind is going in circles and he'd rather have a more analytical brain look at the situation before he proceeds.

Unsurprisingly groggy, Rin struggles to open his eyes. Haruka heaves a sigh of relief at the sight of those familiar crimson irises. Without further ado, he easily tears open the skin on his wrist, allowing a steady stream of blood to drip down to Rin's lips.

Rin's expression is confused and a little bit rebellious – and every single second counts so Haruka wants to make this as efficient as possible. "Drink my blood, Rin. We'll talk after."

With an obnoxious eyeroll, Rin obediently drinks the blood that's supposed to restore vitality to his system. He has endured being a vampire long enough to acquire a stronger stomach that can accept others' blood, but on top of getting experimented on by the Operation Freedom, he has been incredibly picky when it comes to his meals. That's also probably the only reason why he was successfully captured by the tag-team of Mikoshiba and Nitori.

Once Haruka deems Rin healthy enough, he moves his wrist away from the other's mouth, freeing the other from sitting up away from his lap.

Rin just stays there though, wriggling his head a little against Haruka's thighs. Rin clears his throat and whispers – a little bit teasingly, a large part affectionately: "I think I like it when you order me around, Haru."

The thing is: Haruka can never outright tell whether the feelings that Rin feel are purely his or if they're tainted by what _he_ thinks Rin should feel. Ever since Rin has been turned to a vampire, there haven't been any huge breakthroughs when it comes to studying vampirism and how it could be reversed – or barring that, how it could be lived with. He's constantly guessing and second-guessing and that's not even the hardest part when it comes to dealing with Rin.

"You're annoying," Haruka halfheartedly mumbles instead, because he doesn't like ordering Rin or anyone around, because he likes it when Rin likes something he does. It's complicated when everything should be simple.

Rin easily ignores his lie. "So?" He stretches a little bit, much like an overgrown, overbearing cat. "You came to rescue me like a damsel in distress?"

"You make for an ugly damsel." Haruka retorts because imprisonment doesn't look pretty on someone as forceful. "…you're ungrateful, too."

"I didn't ask you to rescue me." And here comes the trigger to Rin's mood swings— "But thank you, anyway."

Haruka doesn't reply to that, because he doesn't dare to ruin the moment. It might just a whim of Rin's, but his heart still thuds painfully in his chest upon hearing those words he hasn't heard from the other's mouth since that fateful night.

"…Do they know?"

Rin's voice sounds incredibly young.

Haruka's heart does another tumble.

Rin's head is heavy, but it's a welcome weight. Haruka places a hand over Rin's forehead before slipping it to the mess of hair, untangling the knots with ease. Haruka avoids answering the question, because that's a huge part of why he wants Rin awake for this – he needs a sly person to help plan things.

"…Do they know about _you_?"

•

> " _We will be the best agent pair the Operation Freedom will ever see, right, Haru?_ "
> 
> Rin's dreamy words had echoed inside his mind then – because to become the best, the two of them had needed to survive first and foremost and it had appeared impossible back then: surrounded by a group of vampires that had commandeered an empty hospital all to themselves.
> 
> They had been severely outnumbered and terribly outclassed by the vampires that had too much experience under their belts. They had failed to send out a cry of help for the reinforcements stationed two kilometers away; they had to endure until the headquarters noticed that something had gone horribly wrong. The two of them had been the only ones left of the ten pairs that had been sent for reconnaissance; the rest had been pathetically squashed down like mere bugs.
> 
> Haruka had trained to become stronger so that he could face situations like this, so that he could protect Rin from dangers like this. But it hadn't been enough – the leader of this vampire group had effortlessly swatted him to the wall, while two of the lackeys had taken it upon themselves to treat Rin as an unresponsive punching bag.
> 
> It hadn't been enough – and the thought had burned itself into his very being – and he had recklessly charged against the opponent without any of his precious self-control. If he had only known what future that one careless action had caused – well, he most likely would have still done it, since he had no choice otherwise.
> 
> His main priority had only been to bring Rin to safety back then and that had blinded him to the bizarre possibility that the vampire leader had been looking for a poor human that could be ruined for his entertainment.
> 
> Haruka had only thought of saving Rin so he hadn't even expected the fangs that had sunk into his neck like a nightmare – hadn't expected the sensation of his insides writhing and curling and dissolving into mush – hadn't expected the all-consuming _hunger_ that cycled through his mind.
> 
> He hadn't expected _change_.

•

"…Do they know about _you_?"

"It doesn't matter." Haruka shrugs even if he's honestly frightened of how this will shake things up even more. "No matter what, I'll protect you."

"You've always been eager to be my knight in shining armor," Rin simpers sarcastically, before dropping the act with the curl of distaste on his lips, "it's almost sickening."

Haruka takes it in a stride, because Rin says a lot of things that he doesn't mean.

Everything Haruka has ever done – whether it be hiding his own vampirism from everybody but Rin; whether it be turning Rin into a vampire like him at a critical moment; whether it be breaking Rin out of the headquarters' underground prison – everything has always been for Rin, whether the redhead is aware of it or not.

"Even if you find it sickening, I'll still protect you."

Sometimes, Haruka thinks that things might have been better if he isn't this obsessed with Rin.

But only sometimes – because Haruka is aware that he can't live otherwise.

•  
 **To Be Continued**

Next chapter will contain: more on their past (especially the part where Haru _turned_ Rin to a vampire), longer citrus action (bloodier and angrier too), their elopement/escape from the rest of the cast :D

By the way, I hope the plot twist of Haruka being the one who actually turned Rin to a vampire didn't sound too far-fetched 8D I tried my best to sprinkle hints here and there LOL I'll probably upload the next chapter alongside my other fic's;;; As always, feedback, reviews, comments, suggestions and violent reactions are all appreciated :D


	2. 02 - the midnight fall (part one)

 

**Note** : Thank you so much for the positive feedback! :D I know I promised to end things on the second chapter but everything got too long OTL I'm splitting chapter 2 into two or three chunks, but they're still pretty long, even divided. This part is Rin's POV and shows some of the plot on another perspective. As always, any sort of feedback is always welcome! :) If I haven't replied / answered your PMs, please give me a few more hours;;; I'm kind of still stumped from work OTL

**Crossposted** in: ff.net, tumblr, AO3, (and in the future: LJ and dreamwidth)

•••

Vampires – supernatural beings that heralded the end of the world.

Fourth amongst the long list of creatures that discarded their cloaks of mystery and impossible detectability, they utilized a mix of power and strategy that gave them a heavy-handed advantage not only over the humans they aimed to enslave as part of their everlasting food source, but also over the other creatures that obtained freedom to rampage like disturbed, drunken teenage partygoers high on drugs.

While a great majority of those supernatural creatures elicited disgusted looks from humans – vampires are on an entirely different level of being hated. It could be because they're the only race that explicitly targets powerless humans; it could be because aside from some noteworthy changes in their bodies, vampires are actually just like humans – only conveniently stripped of morality and conscience.

Philosophizing about humanity and morality are hardly what one could associate with teenagers like him – but he's been a teenager for an extremely long time now, hasn't he? – and it isn't going to do him any favors if he started now. While he isn't so keen about participating in group hunts with other vampires – they're a bunch of filthy bloodsuckers without a care for anything else but their own bloodlust, after all – he is less eager to meet his unfortunate end of getting skewered by some upstart that thinks he can score an S-Class for the sake of humanity.

Acquiring the S-Class label doesn't come as a surprise to him – vampire or not, he's always been driven to be the very best at what he does – but the ease of getting that recognition makes the pads of his fingers twitch in half-irritation and half-need to strangle someone – specifically _Haru_.

As though summoned by the thought, Haru appears within his scope of vision – blue hair and even bluer eyes easily distinguishable despite the distance of around fifty floors and the tacky waterproof hoodie tugged forward to conceal the operative's face.

Given the distinct lack of factual information about vampirism – lack of knowledge further exacerbated by the fact that he refuses to associate with any other vampire – he isn't quite sure if the rumbling low in his chest is his penchant for growling exponentially strengthened or if it's a strange vampiric ability that he needs to learn about. He growls anyway and feels his undead heart start beating once-twice-thrice before it jumpstarts the machine of his very being.

Vampires normally don't possess heartbeats because there's something else driving the circulation of nutrients inside their bodies; their hearts aren't completely useless though because it now serves as a sort of radar or alarm that activates whenever a stressful or important scenario arises. Seeing _Haru_ has always stressed him a little, even when they first met for reasons that aren't entirely changed since then. Of course, now that he's an S-Class vampire and Haru is wasting his time mucking around as the Ace of Operation Freedom, he has more reasons to feel stressed upon the sight of the person who is so many things to him it isn't even funny.

He jumps down to the rooftop of a smaller building, reducing the distance between him and Haru and the rest of the ducklings, but making sure to balance the force of his fall and disperse it so he can land noiselessly. One of the things that ordinary humans don't know about vampires is that getting turned to one stimulates one's brain to frightening levels – now, he can think clearer, faster. There are drawbacks to heightened lucidity – and he does suffer from those a little bit too often for his liking – but he harnesses the advantages now of knowing exactly where his limbs are and what he can do.

Wearing skintight fabric makes it easier for him to move without the sound of his clothes ruffling around giving his position away – and there's a leering grin that threatens to overtake his lips when he remembers the way Haru's eyes _sparkled_ like some goddamn fairy lights when he showed him his lineup of clothing for the month.

With considerably less concentration spent compared to his previous attempt, he lengthens and sharpens his fingernails to make them look and function like painful peregrine falcon's talons. His next goal is to do the transformation simultaneously with growing his teeth to be like a great white shark's, but that can wait for next time.

Right now, he's focused on trailing after the lone Haru briskly walking but still leading a group of frightened-looking newbies from a safe distance away. He almost bites his lip and wastes his own blood when he recalls about the last argument they had about the recklessness and stubbornness that Haru is displaying by refusing to partner with anyone else. Of course, honestly, he's _pleased_ that Haru can't get over him as well – there's a strange thought that he'll probably attempt to murder anyone who dares replace him as Haru's partner – but Haru's job courts danger on an hourly basis and being alone in a world that not even pairs can easily survive is just asking for trouble.

Ever since Operation Freedom managed to gain more ground, there have been missions that sent their operatives further away in order to gather whatever they can find – supplies, information, food, more allies – because living is still tough and it's much tougher without the appropriate resources. There's no question that humanity wants to be saved but it's still difficult with the way vampires effortlessly usurp their control each time victory is within their reach.

…He's not sure why he's here actually. He's not really part of any vampire communities – nor does he wish to be – yet he isn't interested in lending the shivering newbies a hand when they face the enemies lurking around just shy of one hundred meters away. His face is all over the daily updated target list for the operatives, with strict orders of at least Level E handling when sighted – that's just short of outright killing him by a stake to the heart, because knowledge is the power that the human side lacks. He's bound to be experimented on once they manage to get their hands on him – so no thank you to helping those bastards out.

Haru is here though and he's keenly feeling the effects of a week's worth of deprivation. It's cheesy – his younger self might find it romantic, but his younger self is a sappy idiot – but there's a strong bond that keeps the two of them chained together. Said bond protests and howls whenever they're separated for an extended period of time, but if he's on his less forgiving days, he considers that bond to just be some fucked-up hormones that aren't fully developed because his puberty hasn't finished very well, what with becoming a vampire against his will when he's just sixteen.

…Shit.

Haru is _looking_ at him, with a gaze that burns worse than the special-issue silver alloy that can corrode vampire skin, as though sensing his embittered thoughts even with cramped buildings acting as physical barriers between them. He boldly resists the urge to look away because that's Haru's specialty, not his, even if he kind of feels shattered and chastised by that stare. He fidgets and scratches himself in the process but he doesn't notice until Haru rolls his eyes at him before addressing one of the newbies that ran toward him. He doesn't need to employ supernatural hearing to hear the breathless question of what their precious Ace is looking at.

He licks the nick on his forearm as he continues to follow Haru like some fucked-up back-up to their mission. He isn't going to help Haru – the other is the _Ace_ and trump cards don't require any sort of assistance, not from reinforcements, not from vampires that should really be their sworn enemies except not really. He's only here to assess how much Haru has improved since their last sparring match; they weren't able to finish that one, no thanks to Haru effectively distracting him by acting so coy and shit, fluttering his eyelashes like he's shy while his hands are busy kneading his ass like the least-shy person in the planet.

It's more than just a little fucked-up: this _world_ that's crumbling with its layers of false hopes peeling off and showcasing the desperate decay underneath; this _relationship_ that he has with Haru that's wrong on so many levels that it's not even worth salvaging yet the thought of not seeing him again, of not setting things _right_ between them is more painful than having his insides torn from his body without any anesthetics or any level of delicacy; this _condition_ that's forced upon him whether he liked it or not, without any hopes of reversal to the time when he was just a simple human being with a simple dream of being the best with a simple rivalry with his childhood friend.

One of these days he's actually going to conquer that meditation book that Haru all but chucked to his face – but today is a bust and he's failed to control his thoughts once more from leaking out and affecting the oppressive aura of the area. While the building he's perched on doesn't quite tremble in fear, the four pairs of newbies tagging alongside Haru for their first mission are seconds away from pissing their pants from the sudden boom of killing intent.

The hybrid werewolves apparently are either tired of lurking in wait or intrigued by the ominous aura – it doesn't matter – so they practically jump out of their hiding place and stalk towards the group of mostly inexperienced operatives. The newbies attribute the knee-shaking urge to the werewolves and it reflects on the panic on their faces.

He tries to reign in his own emotions – not out of consideration for them, because those werewolves are hardly comparable to _Fenrir_ so they shouldn't be so easily frightened, those cowards – because Haru glares at him again like the cocky bastard that he is. He's half-tempted to march over there and shake Haru by his shoulders and remind him that there are enemies steadily getting closer, _hello_ , he should pay attention to them.

He doesn't go there, because there's a buzz in his head akin to the one time he goaded Haru into drinking with him – (and then he had a killer hangover afterwards and then he had to wish to kill himself instead of listening to the back-to-back lectures of both his sister and Haru's friend that's really most likely just someone's mother in disguise). While he isn't drunk from cheap beer pilfered from the hidden pile behind the medicine stash, he does feel lightheaded and inebriated on the feeling that Haru inspires in him. He knows it's probably just one of Haru's many, many weird quirks, but there's still something unbelievably giddy inside of him that dances like a lunatic whenever Haru ignores everything else and focuses on him.

He has to remind himself that they're not kids anymore and he isn't _everything_ to Haru – because if he is, why did he have to do _that_? And even if turning him to the most hated creature on earth is forgivable because of the circumstances, why did he have to _stay_ with them and pretend like he isn't a monster as well? Why did he have to make him leave alone? He wanted to bring Haruka with him – but Haruka stayed with _them_ and he never managed to find the courage to ask why.

There's a rumbling sound and then even he himself is shivering and he doesn't know why. Well he does know why, but there's no way that he's crying over such a pathetic matter, there's just no way he's spilling tears over _Haru_ who probably don't even know what tears are. That's not true, he knows, because he has seen Haru cry on that fateful night – not when he was the one chosen by that asshole vampire as his little entertainment, but on the night when Haru had no choice but to risk turning him or else lose him to death. He knows that Haru has his reasons but he still can't cure the feeling of betrayal and being unworthy because _it's his dream_ but Haru is the one there being the best operative, because _Haru became a vampire first_ but he was the one thrown away, because _Haru allowed him to be thrown away_ and he didn't follow and it just hurts—

"Honestly, you're such a pain."

And Haru calls him a _pain_ , but he always sounds so resigned like he just don't want to deal with him any longer and so morbidly affectionate like he wants nothing else but be pained by him.

"…H-Haru?"

Haru is here.

He's been here since a few minutes ago – he has a mission to scout the area known for harboring werewolves that practically run illegal trading of antique goods – but _he's really here_.

"Your temper tantrums are always so dramatic." Deadpan but with a hint of exasperation, Haru chides him even as fingers rub soothing circles into his cheeks. A cool, but slightly sweaty forehead presses against his own and his heartbeat spikes through the roof with the closeness that's not new yet always uncomfortably pleasant. Hands travel downwards and are now rubbing his back through his clothes. "Must you always be such a spoiled princess?"

"It's not a temper tantrum," he mumbles in protest but his words are swallowed by the folds of the thick black uniform that he also once wore, his objection to being called a princess swallowed by the tempting collarbone of the one who locked him in this embrace, "it's not."

It's really not, because temper tantrums are for immature brats.

It's also mostly deliberate, but there's nothing controlled about the mess in front of his eyes: the rumbling sound from earlier must have come from the collapse of several buildings in a domino effect; the shivering must be from the building he was perched on sinking down to ground level; the entire vicinity now a useless pile of rubble due to the explosion of his uncontrollable aura. There's no relevant information about that yet – but from experience, he always ends up destroying a good chunk of his surroundings whenever his emotions run amok – basically, whenever he thinks of Haru.

Haru's chest vibrates with what could pass for laughter to him. "Nobody admits to throwing a tantrum."

The hybrid werewolves are nowhere to be found – but that's most likely because Haru's almost desperate embrace is strong enough to shove most of his face to the other's muscled chest. Vampirism granted him supernatural eyesight but even that is useless when there's Haru bodily blocking most of his surroundings. It's both kind of sweet yet immensely annoying, because Haru is coddling him like a defenseless child. He's an S-Class vampire but even now Haru is still leagues above him.

"What happened to the ducklings?"

"…Ducklings?"

Shit.

He's thinking of calling them weaklings but that's what came out instead. He resolutely keeps his head down even while he realistically imagines the stoic-but-kind-of-confused quirk of eyebrow that Haru is sporting right now.

"You know what I mean!"

"I ordered them to escape."

"Because I would have crushed them otherwise, is that it?"

Haru sighs so deeply it almost rattles his entire ribcage against his ears. "Because your _power surge_ is uncontrollable and they're unprepared to face chimera werewolves on their first day."

"So it's because my _temper tantrum_ would have crushed them." He's very much aware that this is probably the textbook definition of a temper tantrum, but even now Haru is thinking of those humans whose names he probably didn't even know, instead of leaving them for him when they're the ones who have a whole fuckton of history together.

"Stop being an idiot, Rin." He feels his entire head forcibly being tugged away from where he's resolved to never look at Haru again – or at least for a few more minutes – until he's face to face with Haru and there's a funny sensation on his nose as it rubs against Haru's. "You know that you're…"

He knows.

He knows the next words even if Haru hasn't said them yet today.

"You're the only one."

He knows he's the only one for Haru.

Only one what – that's what he doesn't really know because Haru isn't good with words, and to be honest, he isn't either.

There's probably a million things that he can ask – that he should ask – and that could probably save the world, or if not the whole world, maybe just the two of them at least, from a whole lot of grief – but he's a coward and Haru is there with him a few days in a month and he's torn between wanting to push him away and wanting to make sure that Haru will not leave him even with the certain knowledge that he inevitably will.

"How romantic," he spits out while swallowing his grudging acceptance that today isn't going to be the day that everything gets fixed between him and Haru. If Haru gasps in surprise – and hopefully suffers from a lot of pain – at the words that he used to tease Haru with during their childhood, then that's good. Even while he's doing something so unbearably foolish as kissing the one person who's at the root of all his troubles, he's torn between thinking that he wants this moment to last forever and snarling about him being the only one for Haru isn't enough to prevent them from hurting and leaving each other.

(If only he had known that falling in love was this complicated and heart-wrenching, he wouldn't have followed his father's suggestions to befriend Haru. Or maybe not really – because his father's words are absolute and if he didn't get close to Haru because of his vividly blue eyes or his graceful maneuvers – he probably would have been ordered to get close to him through some other means. Because even back then, everybody already considered Haru to be worlds above commoners like him.)

•••

**chapter 02 - the midnight fall** ; ( _part one_ )


End file.
